USC, Florida Top First Standings

The BCS Guru has released the 2007 season's first unofficial BCS Standings, which finds USC a comfortable No. 1 and Florida barely edging out LSU for the second spot. These standings are a close facsimile to the actual BCS standings, using the same methodology, with a few minor alterations necessitated by circumstances.

First, the AP poll is used in the standings in place of the Harris Interactive Poll, which will debut in late September. Second, Dr. Peter Wolfe, who operates one of the computer models, does not release his rankings until Oct. 14, the first weekend of the official BCS standings. Finally, at this time, two other computers (Anderson & Hester and Colley Matrix) have not released its rankings, therefore those results are excluded.

But we have at least a framework of what the BCS standings would look like if it were released today. USC, with a commanding lead in both polls, also enjoys a robust rating from the three computers that released its rankings. As the preseason poll favorite -- for the third time in four years -- the Trojans at the moment are the clear No. 1 team in the BCS as well.

Two SEC rivals, Florida and LSU are running neck-and-neck at Nos. 2 and 3. with West Virginia and Wisconsin rounding up the top five. The Gators and Tigers will meet Oct. 6 in Baton Rouge, so if everything follows form, that game should temporarily determine the No. 2 spot.

Oklahoma, California, Texas, Ohio State and Virginia Tech round out the Top 10. Louisville, ranked No. 8 in both polls, is 12th in the BCS rankings. The computers seem to be shunning the Cardinals right now, but it's still way too early to detect a trend.

Finally, Texas Christian (No. 20), Hawaii (No. 23) and Boise State (No. 24) are three non-BCS conference teams that made it into the top 25. TCU plays at Texas this weekend, and a victory will provide a huge boost to the Horned Frogs' hopes of reaching a BCS bowl. Boise State will visit Hawaii on Nov. 23 to decide the WAC championship, and perhaps a BCS berth.